This is a conference grant application requesting support for the fifth Gordon Research Conference on Signal Transduction by Engineered Extracellular Matrices. This meeting will be held July 6 to July 11 2008, at Bates College in Lewiston, ME. The Chair will be Dr. Molly Shoichet and the Vice-Chair will be Dr. Chris Chen. The conference will focus on the cellular microenvironment - that is how the microenvironment controls cell function in development, maturity and cancer and how the cellular microenvironment can be engineered to control cell function. This brings together researchers in diverse fields of biology, chemistry and engineering for both the understanding of cellular function and how this can be harnessed for the repair and replacement of tissues lost or damaged due to disease or injury. Each day is organized with the biological systems defined in the morning and engineering these systems in the evening. This serves to bring together experts and encourage cross-disciplinary thinking. This year, special attention will be paid to the stem cell niche and the role of cancer therein. Moreover, the importance of translating fundamental science and engineering will be highlighted with the inclusion of leading scientists in biotechnology companies. These components are new to this GRC. There will be discussion of state of the art, unpublished research in signal transduction, the mechanisms by which growth factors and the ECM regulate cell fate, and their application to tissue regeneration and engineering. The program will include oral sessions - each with three speakers (in the a.m.) and two speakers (in the p.m.) and a discussion leader - as well as poster sessions (most participants will be expected to present a poster). Importantly, 3 poster presenters will be invited to give short oral presentations in every a.m. session, for a total of 12 oral poster presenters. The meeting will be small by conventional standards (approximately 125 participants), but participants will be selected to ensure attendance by a diverse group of junior and senior investigators representing academic and government institutions, as well as small and large biotechnology companies. Students and postdoctoral fellows will be encouraged to attend, and at least one speaker in each session will be a junior investigator. In this way the meeting will provide a platform for the development of long term interdisciplinary interactions, and expose students and young professionals to the latest ideas and opportunities at the confluence of signal transduction, molecular and cellular biology, biomaterials and tissue engineering. A special effort will be made to use the financial support requested to facilitate the attendance and participation of women and minorities in this meeting. [unreadable] [unreadable] PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE STATEMENT (provided by applicant): The health relatedness of this application is that the discussions of current research will define the questions that require experimental resolution in areas that affect tissue repair, replacement and regeneration in both pediatric and aged populations, human development, stem cells and cancer, neurological disorders and disease, skeletal & smooth muscle development and disease, cardiac development and disease, dental and craniofacial development and disease, eye development and disease, diabetes development and associated degeneration. These discussions will focus on identifying the signaling molecules that define the cellular microenvironment and in using this knowledge to develop therapies based on this understanding in the multiple areas that comprise regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]